miR-889 promotes proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas through DAB2IP.

MicroRNAs have been reported to play critical roles in various cancers, but there has been no study on the role of miR-889 in cancers. Here, we report that over-expression of miR-889 leads to rapid proliferation of EC109 and EC9706 cells in vitro and in vivo by inducing cells into S-phase. Using bioinformatics methods, DAB2IP was further confirmed to be a direct target of miR-889. In addition, the expression of DAB2IP, which was negatively correlated with that of miR-889, was significantly associated with clinicopathological features of ESCC patients. In conclusion, miR-889 is an important regulator in ESCC and both miR-889 and DAB2IP may serve as promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets in patients with ESCC.